![People wave opposition flags and gather around in the center of Aleppo to celebrate the collapse of the 61-year-long Baath regime in Syria and the end of the Assad family’s rule on December 13, 2024, in Aleppo, Syria [Kasım Rammah - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/AA-20241213-36476908-36476905-SYRIANS_CONTINUE_CELEBRATIONS_FOLLOWING_COLLAPSE_OF_61YEARLONG_BAATH_REGIME_IN_SYRIA.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
The United States is concerned about a reported threat of a Turkish military incursion against the Kurdish militias in northern and north-eastern Syria, American officials have revealed.
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal today, unnamed US officials have warned that Washington is increasingly concerned that Turkiye and its allied militias in northern Syria – predominantly under the umbrella of the Syrian National Army (SNA) – are preparing for a large-scale military incursion into Syrian territory controlled by US-backed Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Citing a reported significant Turkish military build-up and presence – including the deployment of uniformed Turkish commandos, artillery units and allied militias to strategic positions along the border – near the town of Kobani, or Ayn Al-Arab, the officials told the paper that the movements resembled those seen ahead of Turkiye’s 2019 incursion into northern Syria, with one warning that “a cross-border operation could be imminent” yet again.
Trump says Turkiye will hold ‘key to Syria’, hails relationship with Turkish President
The reported development comes amid the simmering of tensions between the Kurdish militias and the Turkish-backed militias, despite an agreement that was struck last week between the SDF and the new Syrian government led by former opposition group Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS).
The deal seemed to temporarily calm hostilities, but new clashes are reported to have recently broken out between the SDF and SNA factions, with Turkiye also looking determined to further curb the Kurdish militias and eliminate their abilities to pose a threat.
A senior official in the SDF-led administration in north-eastern Syria, Ilham Ahmed, was quoted by the WSJ as claiming to US President-elect, Donald Trump, in a letter that Turkiye aims to seize control of Syrian Kurdish territory before Trump takes office in January, with the alleged goal of forcing the new US administration to recognise Turkish authority in those areas.
Warning that “the consequences will be catastrophic” if Turkiye proceeds with a new incursion, Ahmed reminded Trump of his past guarantees that “the United States wouldn’t abandon the Kurds”. He further stated that Trump’s “decisive leadership can stop this invasion and preserve the dignity and safety of those who have stood as steadfast allies in the fight for peace and security”.